If you’re wondering which players to watch in Saturday’s NWSL Championship match between the Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current, look no further than the NWSL Best XI for the 2022 season.

The league on Tuesday released its list of the top 11 players this year, including Thorns forward Sophia Smith and midfielder Sam Coffey as well as Current forward Lo’eau LaBonta. The results are based on a voting scale involving players (50%), owners, GMs and coaches (20%), media (20%) and fans (10%).

Smith is among the five NWSL MVP candidates after finishing second in the Golden Boot race with 14 goals, a career best and a single-season record for Portland. Coffey, a Rookie of the Year nominee, boasted an 83 percent pass rating.

For the Current, LaBonta broke out this season with seven goals — and standout celebrations, even compared to those from the rest of the self-proclaimed Celly Team.

THE CELLY TEAM STRIKES AGAIN 💃 pic.twitter.com/TqU2hpYBiq

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) October 16, 2022

Kansas City goalkeeper AD Franch and defender Hailie Mace feature on the Best XI Second Team, as do Thorns defenders Kelli Hubly and Becky Sauerbrunn.

The San Diego Wave lead all teams with three players on the Best XI First Team, including: forward Alex Morgan, Golden Boot winner and MVP candidate; Kailen Sheridan, Goalkeeper of the Year candidate; and Naomi Girma, nominee for MVP, Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year.

OL Reign, who claimed the NWSL Shield but lost in the semifinals to the Current, boast the most players across the First and Second Teams with five. Defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta made the First Team, while midfielders Jess Fishlock and Rose Lavelle and forward Megan Rapinoe made the Second Team.

Five NWSL clubs — Gotham FC, the Washington Spirit, the Orlando Pride, Racing Louisville and Angel City FC — do not have any representatives on the Best XI squads.

NWSL Best XI First Team

• Kailen Sheridan, goalkeeper (San Diego Wave)
• Alana Cook, defender (OL Reign)
• Naomi Girma, defender (San Diego Wave)
• Sofia Huerta, defender (OL Reign)
• Carson Pickett, defender (North Carolina Courage)
• Sam Coffey, midfielder (Portland Thorns)
• Lo’eau LaBonta, midfielder (Kansas City Current)
• Alex Morgan, forward (San Diego Wave)
• Debinha, forward (North Carolina Courage)
• Mallory Pugh, forward (Chicago Red Stars)
• Sophia Smith, forward (Portland Thorns)

NWSL Best XI Second Team

• Adrianna Franch, goalkeeper (Kansas City Current)
• Kelli Hubly, defender (Portland Thorns)
• Hailie Mace, defender (Kansas City Current)
• Tatumn Milazzo, defender (Chicago Red Stars)
• Becky Sauerbrunn, defender (Portland Thorns)
• Jess Fishlock, midfielder (OL Reign)
• Kerolin, forward (North Carolina Courage)
• Rose Lavelle, midfielder (OL Reign)
• Diana Ordóñez, forward (North Carolina Courage)
• Megan Rapinoe, forward (OL Reign)
• Ebony Salmon, forward (Houston Dash)

The 2022 @mastercard Best XI teams are on another LEVEL 😱

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 25, 2022

Brazil officially rained on the homecoming parade of back-to-back Euro winners England on Saturday, when the 2025 Copa América Femenina champions humbled the Lionesses 2-1 in their friendly matchup — despite competing shorthanded for nearly 70 minutes.

World No. 7 Brazil took an early lead behind first-half strikes from forward Bia Zaneratto and attacker Dudinha, before midfielder Angelina received a straight red card for a foul against the Lionesses' Ella Toone in the 21st minute.

No. 4 England did manage a few clear-cut chances, grabbing a goal back from Brazil early in the second half via a sharply shot penalty from attacking midfielder Georgia Stanway, though the effort was not enough to overcome the South American titans.

With two years until the Brazil-hosted 2027 World Cup, both top-ranked teams will look to learn from the weekend result.

"We start slow and we make these mistakes," said England manager Sarina Wiegman. "If I knew why, I would have solved it straight away."

"After the red card there was resilience and maximum effort," said Brazil head coach Arthur Elias. "You have to have that in this national team: spirit and dedication."

How to watch England in action this week

The No. 4 Lionesses' homecoming series continues with a Tuesday friendly against No. 15 Australia at Derby's Pride Park Stadium.

The match kicks off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Paramount+.

Reigning NCAA basketball champion UConn is facing a change of scenery, with the ongoing government shutdown forcing the top-ranked Huskies to move their November 4th season-opener against the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals from Germany's Ramstein Air Base to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Dubbed the Armed Forces Classic, the game was originally on track to be Ramstein's first-ever women's matchup, with this season's Huskies following in the overseas footsteps of the UConn men, who defeated Michigan State in the inaugural Classic in 2012.

This year's 10th edition would have marked the third Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein, after the 2017 game between Texas A&M and West Virginia also took place at the German base.

Though the move is an unplanned pivot, this season's matchup will not be the first time that the Armed Forces Classic occurs on domestic soil, with previous iterations bringing NCAA games to US military sites in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Texas, Alaska, and California.

"We're excited to have [the] opportunity to play at the academy," Louisville head coach Jeff Walz told The AP after last week's venue change. "It's going to be a great experience for our players. Everyone was excited about going to Germany and playing at Ramstein, but we will make the best of this."

Overseas bases operate at reduced levels during a government shutdown, impacting on-ground access for both the schools and broadcasters.

"We're appreciative of the Naval Academy for helping provide a first-class venue for this first-ever women's college basketball matchup that will showcase perennial powers Louisville and UConn," added ESPN VP of events Clint Overby.

How to watch the UConn vs. Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic

The No. 1 UConn Huskies will tip off the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season by taking on the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals at the US Naval Academy on Tuesday, November 4th.

The clash will tip off at 5:30 PM ET on ESPN.

Another WNBA team has reportedly landed a leader, with the Seattle Storm rumored to have tapped former New York Liberty and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman as the team's newest head coach.

Building out her early head coaching career in the NCAA's Division III leading the MIT Engineers, Raman spent four seasons as an NBA assistant in Memphis before joining Sandy Brondello's Liberty staff for the 2025 WNBA season.

According to a Friday report, the Seattle Storm have offered Raman a multi-year deal, and the hiring will make her the first-ever WNBA head coach of Indian descent.

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With the Dallas Wings as well as both 2026 expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo also recently locking in their new locker room leaders, Seattle's sideline news means that only 2024 champions New York remain without a manager well into the WNBA offseason.

Reports indicate that Raman initially caught the Liberty's eye, after Brondello parted ways with the team following New York's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.

Raman will replace Seattle's 2021-2025 head coach Noelle Quinn, taking over a Storm roster centered around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick and All-Rookie team honoree Dominique Malonga plus an anticipated 2026 lottery pick.

US Soccer is developing new pre- and post-pregnancy protocol plans, USWNT manager Emma Hayes told media on Saturday — hours after star forward Lynn Biyendolo announced on social media that she is expecting her first child.

"It is how to combine the right things in the right ways and the right specialisms around so that players feel supported," said Hayes. "That through their journey of having a baby, that feels like they're doing the right things, but also gets them back in the safest way possible, depending if it's a natural pregnancy or if it is a C-section."

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Described as a 360 approach, the pregnancy protocol and how best to manage new parents has been a point of focus for the national team, with the players union and US Soccer most recently ratifying new protections and resources for parent-athletes into the 2022 CBA.

Multiple USWNT starters have started families in the years since that landmark agreement, with US and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson giving birth to her first daughter last month and Triple Espresso teammate Mallory Swanson expecting her first child later this year.

Hayes said that she expects to share those protocols "with our larger landscape," though she did not specify a timeline for the roll-out.

"I keep reminding the players, whenever things get challenging, lean into the team in every way, shape, or form, whether that's in our game model, whether that's outside of the field," she added. "Healthy culture, great people always is going to represent great progress."